Halloween activities list

Hey guys!  Sorry I haven't been showing the blog any love lately.  :-(   We haven't been doing anything too exciting around here and it's been quite the adjustment getting used to our new Preschool schedule, for both me and the kids!  I guess I didn't realize how big of an adjustment to our schedule it was going to be.  Since it is almost October (where did September go!?!?!?), I thought I would share a list of Halloween ideas with you.  I stole the list from this blog here.

Here’s a great list of Halloween ideas and activities to do OR to make in counting down to Halloween. A fun thing every day all month long. (I’ve included this list with links to help you understand some of them better.)
01. Visit a pumpkin patch or apple orchard (for those of us in Northern States).
02. Decorate pumpkins without carving them (fun for early October)
03. Carve pumpkins
04. Make pumpkin pancakes with black cinnamon syrup for breakfast
05. Tell ghost stories with a flash light
06. Host a Halloween party
07. Make candy corn rice krispie treats
08. Decorate for Halloween inside and out
09. Make a new Halloween decoration
10. Have a Halloween muffin tin lunch
11. Decorate spooky graham cracker candy houses
12. Make Halloween cookies
13. “BOO” one of your neighbors with a Halloween treat – “You’ve been boo-ed!”
14.  Halloween sidewalk chalk
15.  Make hotdog mummies for a Halloween dinner
16.  Host a witches brew
17.  Make spider ice cubes
18. Watch Wizard of Oz (or go see WICKED the musical) for the BEST. WITCH. EVER.
19. Make caramel apples
20. Have spider web soup for dinner (with grilled cheese sandwiches, of course. )
21. Download and color a Halloween picture – best coloring gets a prize
22. Have pumpkin ice cream sandwiches for dessert
23. Paint something in glow in the dark paint
24. Take pictures in your Halloween costume before the big night
25. Watch your favorite Halloween special (maybe – Charlie Brown or Casper?)
26. Make spider cider
27. Print and frame your own spooky photos of yourself
28. Go threw old magazines and make a Halloween Inspiration board
29. Have a game of Pumpkin Bowling
30. Play a game of pop goes the pumpkin
31. TRICK or TREAT!! – wahoo!

I personally am going to be doing 4, 6, 9, 15, 22, and 31.  I will probably even do a few more!  What fun activites will you be doing for Halloween??

31 Things flower clip copycat and a *Giveaway*

Remember Monday how I showed you this picture?

                     

Well last Friday I went to (and co-hosted) a 31 Things Party.  It was at my sis-in-laws house and we donated the proceeds to the Pancreatic Cancer walk that we are participating in on Oct 9th.  If you have never been to 31 Things party, I suggest checking it out if you are ever invited.  They have many different cute bags for just about everything in really cute designs.  They are a little pricey (for me anyway!) but are really good quality.  31 Things also has other items besides bags, but that's what they tend to focus on.  My mother-in-law was also there and bought a few things.  She saw a clip that went with the bags that she wanted.  She handed it to me and said "You can buy this for me for Christmas".  I saw the price was $6 and told her that I could make one for her (and for a lot cheaper!). 

Their version of the clip

My version of the clip


These two clips took me about 1 hour total to make and cost about .50 cents each.

Materials
-hot glue gun and glue sticks
-grosgrain ribbon
-piece of black felt
-piece of coordinating fabric - I used a fat quarter from Joann's but you could probably use any type of fabric
-alligator clips - you could also use a headband or other types of clips
-scissors
-different sized circular items

Step 1
Gather your supplies and find different sizes of circular items that are relatively close in size that you will be able to trace.  You will need 7 different sizes for the circles.  I went through about 15 different items before I was able to come up with my 7.  I also used a piece of paper to make a "mock flower" to make sure that the circles were going to work. 

These are the 7 items that I used from largest to smallest, and my "mock flower".  Super random items, I know!

Step 2
Trace the circles onto the felt and the fabric.  I used a white colored pencil to trace the circles on the black felt and a regular pencil to trace the circles onto the fabric (I traced the circles on the backside of the fabric.  It's hard to see the circles if you trace on the printed side.  For the felt, both sides are the same so it doesn't matter).  You will need 4 felt circles and 3 fabric circles.  Start the felt circles with the biggest item and then trace every other item.  Start the fabric circles with the second biggest item and then every other item.  (example: for my felt circles I traced the tuna can, the glass with the little, purple flowers, the spice container cap and the blue vitamin bottle cap onto the black felt. For my fabric circles, I traced the larger, clear glass, the cooking spray can and the chili powder.)

Fabric circles

Felt Circles

Step 3
Cut out all the circles with your scissors. 

All the circles cut out!


 Step 4
Cut fringes on the edge of each felt circle and fabric circle.  I just took little snips all around the edge and tried to evenly space them apart. 

Step 5
Using the glue gun, line your alligator clip with the grosgrain ribbon.  You can find a tutorial here.

Alligator clips lined

Step 6
Using your hot glue gun, glue the flower layers onto each other, one circle at a time.  I started with the big circle and put glue in the middle, away from the fringe.  I worked my way through each circle until I got to the smallest.  Press them all together for a few seconds to make sure they are stuck together and your glue held.  Other types of glue may work if you don't own a glue gun.

All the circles together!

Step 7
Place hot glue on the alligator clip and place the clip on the back of the flower. 

Step 8
Let the flowers dry for a few hours or overnight.  Clip to a bag or in your hair.  Give it to a friend or keep it for yourself. 

I will be giving away one of these cute flowers to one lucky winner.  To enter, leave a comment below with where you would wear one of these clips (ie. in your hair, on your bag...) and if you would keep it for yourself or give it to someone else.  You can get an extra entry by becoming a follower of my blog.  If you currently follow, leave a comment saying that you already follow so I know who of my current followers wants to be entered into the drawing.  I will pick one lucky winner next Friday, Sept. 23, 2011.  You have until Midnight EST on Friday to enter. 

Linking up:
So You Think You're Crafty
Momma's Kind of Crafty
Fingerprints on the Fridge

Beautiful Comic



A few weeks ago I found this comic and thought I would share it with all the ladies out there.  I know that this definitely hit home for me.  Just having that one person tell you how special and loved you are when you are not feeling good about yourself, makes you feel beautiful, inside and out.

"To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.”

Brandi Snyder

First day of Preschool

The Tuesday after Labor Day was Alyssa's first day of Preschool.  It was a bittersweet day.  Our little baby is growing up and she did great!  I thought that Alyssa would be more upset, but she basically gave us hugs and kisses, found a seat and waved good-bye.  Leonard was able to get off work for an hour so he could see her off to her first day of school.  Her teacher Mrs. M is really nice and seems to be a really good teacher.  Alyssa is only in Preschool for two days a week, two and a half hours each time.  We haven't come up with a good schedule on school days yet, so it pretty much throws our entire day off.  I don't even seem as productive on her days at school.  I am hoping to remedy this soon. 

Zucchini bread that I made for the teacher and her helper.  I gave them each a loaf like the one in the glass container.  (Sorry about the sideways picture, not sure what's going on and I don't know how to fix it.  Blogger used to always fix my pics for me.  I didn't take the pic sideways so I am not sure why it loaded like this)

This was the Preschool mailbox that Alyssa had to decorate.  She wanted purple, princesses and flowers.  We used things that I had in my craft stash and any stickers we could find around the house. 



Alyssa and Malachi right before we walked out the door.

Playing in the flowers before we got in the car.  I tried to get some more creative pics but the kids weren't cooperating. 

Alyssa next to her backpack outside her classroom.  Our little baby is getting so big!

That was our fun first day of Preschool!!

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On a side note, a few weeks ago, I decided I wanted to craft more often.  Every week I am going to try to finish a new project.  These are the materials for this weeks project.  Any ideas???  I will post about this project on Friday, so make sure to check back! 



Happy Monday!

random facts about me!

Sorry for my lack of posts in the past two weeks.  My computer is still down.  We found out that the warranty expired in May so the hubby decided to pull it apart.  He is currently waiting on a computer part so that he can pull all the info off the hard drive.  He wants to make sure that nothing (like pictures from the last three years!!) gets lost before he tries to do anything else.  Starting next week, I will try to be more diligent about blogging.  But for now, I thought that I would share some random facts about myself that you may or may not know.

1.  Watermelon is my favorite fruit.
2.  I am the oldest of 5 children.
3.  I was in karate for 2 years in high school and am a green belt in Tang Soo Doo. 
4.  I failed my driving test the first time but passed the second.  I blame it on the 11 passenger van that my parents made me take.  "If your going to drive the van, you have to take your test with it."
5.  I HATE house centipedes.  They give me chills just thinking about them.  But millipedes don't bother me much. 
6.  I love doing community service and volunteering.  I wish I had more time to do it. 
7.  I miss my Mommy!  She died of Pancreatic cancer almost 3 years ago.
8.  Germany, Poland and Australia are top on the list of places I want to visit. 
9.  I majored in Fisheries and Wildlife in college but seriously considered Social Work.  (My brother Ryan is actually taking classes to get a Master's in Social Work along with his wife.)
10. I'm a homebody.  I don't really like staying out late often and am happy hanging out at home.
11. I LOVE thrift store shopping!
12. I do not like big dogs and am afraid of them (except Labs and Golden Retrievers).
13. I am very much into doing "green" things.  Not necessarily for the fact that they are "green" but because it saves money. 
14.  I feel guilty when I spend money on things that I don't necessarily need but want (sometimes even things I need!).  Because of this I am pretty frugal. 
15.  I hate writing and am not very good at it, but I love blogging!

linking up with The Shine Project